Hello all. Going to keep this relatively short and sweet. first post will be longer than subsequent posts

Stats:

sex: male

age:26

Location: UK

acne type: clogged pores, white heads, black heads. 'mild'

skin type: Dry

skin texture: bumpy in places (forehead) and smooth in others (cheeks) and lots of PIH (hyperpigmentation) of different shades from brown to red to pink. Various atropic scars from years of picking and being too hard on my skin, very shallow scars but non the less still visible if looking close

skin colour: White (british)

Acne org member since Aug 2009 - 5 years.

Short back story:

Having suffered with 'acne' on and off for about 10 years or so and it effecting my social life and what events i do and don't go to depending on the current state of my skin, I decided its time to take the advice of leading skin specialist from Harley Street London. When I say i've tried almost everything I do mean it, diets, products, anti-biotics etc, all have worked on some level but nothing has been 'consistent'. I guess if you look up my posts you will see what my past is and why I am still here. If this doesn't work I will go on accutane, my skin isn't severe and i am greatful for that but persistent mild acne is very frustrating especially as i get older.

I do suffer from picking skin which certainly never helped my situation and over time has caused a lot of damage. But that habit is much more under control and now I am using Differin i will abide diligently with a hands off approach since the skin will become more delicate and I have learnt my lesson.

Current day 21/02/2014:

I will be using Differin as advised by the Derm and prescribed by a Doctor. For now I have picked up the Differin Gel 0.1% strength.

Week 1 Day 1:

21.02.2014 : Day 1 of Differin Gel. So far, no redness, just a very slight itchy feeling on right of chin.

The products and regime that i am going to follow as soon as they get delivered are;

am: Avene gentle cleanser

Sk:n exfoliator oily skin (2-3 x a week max)

Skinceuticals Phytocorrective (2-3 drops)

SPF 30 (Sk:n)

PM: Avene as above

skinceuticals as above

Differin 0.1% Gel

I shall be updating the status on a weekly basis, as apposed to a daily basis, mainly because it becomes 'boring' reading how someone got a spot one day and it disappeared the next.. and repeat.

If you have any questions or would like advise please ask. I will be using this as a dairy so I can monitor my own progress and to keep a record of events. I hope this log helps not only myself but others in a similar position as myself

Edited by .JacktheLad., 21 February 2014 - 02:55 PM.

My Regimen.. accutane

If anyone cares to read this and I manage to stop 1 person to avoid going on Accutane, then its served its purpose.

PM me if you'd like to chat. ACNE is ENTIRELY curable through natural ways. Please don't feel pushed or pressured or helpless that you think you must resort to this drug.

I'm not a crazy natural person (nut job lol) just a 27 year old guy who has been through it all and can offer genuinely good advice. You can see by my profile how long i've been around this forum.

Differin has been applied every other night, tonight is another rest day.

Since starting I have had 2 large spots come up, one on the forehead which became huge and thus came out very easily with a warm cloth/compress. That area is now a PIH that will take time to fade.

The other large spot came up about 3 days ago, it began as a red patch and I just knew it was trouble. Its a rather large itchy pustule. and is sat right on my cheek, face profile onward and very red angry looking.

Other than these 2 large spots, I would say i've had 11 small white heads crop up, 4 of which lefts PIH and about 8 closed comedones which have come out with the most light pressure on planet earth.

needless to say my skin is looking pretty crappy and i feel depressed. This must be the IB (initial breakout). I nearly reached for the Tetralysal anti-bitotics but refrained....

still debating taking them or not- anyone else do Tetralysal and the Differin gel?

will continue on with the gel at this point in time and my regime which effectively I started on tuesday due to the products not being in my hands at time of starting the gel.

hopefully the purging will stop and things can clear up, just hoping that happens sooner than later

Edited by .JacktheLad., 28 February 2014 - 03:28 PM.

My Regimen.. accutane

If anyone cares to read this and I manage to stop 1 person to avoid going on Accutane, then its served its purpose.

PM me if you'd like to chat. ACNE is ENTIRELY curable through natural ways. Please don't feel pushed or pressured or helpless that you think you must resort to this drug.

I'm not a crazy natural person (nut job lol) just a 27 year old guy who has been through it all and can offer genuinely good advice. You can see by my profile how long i've been around this forum.

I have been rather random with my differin application this week, applying it every night then breaks and then not for the past two nights (due to staying around my girlfriends place).

I can say that, the acne has got noticeably worse especially on my forehead around the eyebrow, T-zone area and upper left and right temples.. not sure what that means but i can only guess the Differin is purging existing micro spots and future spots from occurring by clearing it out? i am aware that i shouldn't have squeezed the white heads out, its so bad but seems impossible not to when they are hanging off your face begging for it. really need to overcome that, because i've been good with the ones on my cheeks, i.e leaving them at all costs and YES they have come and gone on their own leaving much less damage than the state of my forehead.

so this is more of a mental note to myself as I write this to lay off.

Ive had another large spot come up from the same left cheek area about 5mm from the other large one during the first week... lucky me. It came to a head and was easily extracted, the area is less red and skin is healing quickly.

I have woken up today and in fact my skin is extremely flakey in the places that spots were, in other words my skin is hyper repairing itself.

Yesterday I wore the SPF sunscreen for the first time as the weather is picking up other in the UK. i was scared to apply it as i truly believe any sunscreen breaks me out, but i think it was ok and haven't noticed any spots created by this, I washed it off after about 5 hours and then reapplied my normal moisturiser.

Once again I was feeling shitty about my skin, I nearly reached for the Tetralysal anti-bitotics again but refrained.... I want to see if my skin picks up and improves very shortly (surely the purging will stop soon ! ) otherwise I may just go for it for 3 months

hopefully the purging will stop and things can clear up, just hoping that happens sooner than later

Edited by .JacktheLad., 09 March 2014 - 04:57 AM.

My Regimen.. accutane

If anyone cares to read this and I manage to stop 1 person to avoid going on Accutane, then its served its purpose.

PM me if you'd like to chat. ACNE is ENTIRELY curable through natural ways. Please don't feel pushed or pressured or helpless that you think you must resort to this drug.

I'm not a crazy natural person (nut job lol) just a 27 year old guy who has been through it all and can offer genuinely good advice. You can see by my profile how long i've been around this forum.

i used differin 2-3 years ago. it cleared me in 4-5 months. trust me, it works. at least for me it did. i was skeptical too the first few months cause nothing was happening. a little dryness but no redness, stinging, etc. when i started not to care and just wanted to use up the entire tube since we paid for it and it was kind of expensive that was when i was shocked to see how smooth my face was all that was left were marks. happiest day of my life. my acne was mostly on my left cheek, chin, and forehead. it was mild - moderate. what helped a lot with my forehead was changing my shampoo. i accidentally switched to a anti dandruff shampoo since i ran out of my usual one, after a few days, the zits were dried up and that part of my face looked better.

Now, after not using any meds for 2-3 years and very bad lifestyle the past few months my acne on my cheeks came back, the differin and epiduo is making me red, dry, and flaky. been using epiduo for a month since the other day and due to irritation, i decided to stop and give my face a break. not sure what to do next though.

But since your not getting those side effects i suggest you continue with the differin and be consistent, please. you're just probably in the initial break out stage. keep us posted!

So.. last week, more spots came up and went, and for some un-be-known reason my forehead decided to clog up, i honestly had about 20 plugs all across it which i stupidly squeezed out... all of them... I was stressed and it got the better of me. believe me i felt awful afterwards let alone looked bad. That has cleared up now and once again left with PIH.

I've been diligent with applying SPF and i think its helping my skin a lot, for moisture as well as sun ray protection.

this friday will be week 4... how mad is that. time really does fly.

Anyway this got me thinking, is this all for a lost cause, Differin wont cause long term remission... everything i've read states that your skin will return to normal after a given amount of time.. so am i only delaying the inevitable? i.e roaccutane..

what are people thoughts on this?

my acne isn't bad bad like severe but its effected me long enough throughout my life, it controls me and my thoughts and how i perceive myself, the persistency of it makes me think accutane may be a good idea, because once its over with i'd have clear skin for good. again, will i not just be damaging my skin with all this initial break out marlarky?

cheers for the message josh and at usedtobe,

i am glad it worked for you, but how long did it take for the marks to fade to nothing? did you scar as in indents? did you pick at your skin? i only use an anti-dandruff shampoo, head and shoulders.

have you thought about accutane? you could use topicals as before, but it seems your skin is more sensitive now so perhaps just introduce them slowly, i've been using diff on and off for 2-3 weeks now and only now does it seem that i can apply it nightly and not suffer from too much dryness.

what moisturiser did you use whilst on it?

My Regimen.. accutane

If anyone cares to read this and I manage to stop 1 person to avoid going on Accutane, then its served its purpose.

PM me if you'd like to chat. ACNE is ENTIRELY curable through natural ways. Please don't feel pushed or pressured or helpless that you think you must resort to this drug.

I'm not a crazy natural person (nut job lol) just a 27 year old guy who has been through it all and can offer genuinely good advice. You can see by my profile how long i've been around this forum.

Marks (PIH) from the picking session seem to be fading, albeit very slowly... some smaller spots i clogged pores and white heads came up on the upper left cheek and one or two on the right. More clogged pores came up on the forehead but cleared. not much more to report on, just hope it improves.

week 5 update 04.04.14

This past week has been hell. I have had 5 painful nodules or cysts form, which hurt to the touch, the one on the end of my nose was so tender that when i kissed my girlfriend it would knock it and i’d be in a lot of pain. So I took 3 nights off the regime and differin to recover, plus i was fed up with applying all the products day and night.

the other cysts/ nodules were on the forehead, non of these did i try to squeeze, so i have been making progress on that side of things. however.. i did pick last night across the forehead due to stress. need to sort this out its not healthy.

onwards and upwards to week 6! perhaps things will get better from here? 6 weeks is half way to the point they suggest things should be noticeably better.

Also how did i forget! I have been to a doc for a referral to a NHS dermatologist in June and I shall ask for Accutane. Blood tests to come. I am basically preparing for it incase i need to. the waiting list is fairly long.

Edited by .JacktheLad., 05 April 2014 - 06:42 AM.

My Regimen.. accutane

If anyone cares to read this and I manage to stop 1 person to avoid going on Accutane, then its served its purpose.

PM me if you'd like to chat. ACNE is ENTIRELY curable through natural ways. Please don't feel pushed or pressured or helpless that you think you must resort to this drug.

I'm not a crazy natural person (nut job lol) just a 27 year old guy who has been through it all and can offer genuinely good advice. You can see by my profile how long i've been around this forum.

only 1 painful cyst this week, and it was because i tried to squeeze a

This past week has been hell. I have had 5 painful nodules or cysts form, which hurt to the touch, the one on the end of my nose was so tender that when i kissed my girlfriend it would knock it and i’d be in a lot of pain. So I took 3 nights off the regime and differin to recover, plus i was fed up with applying all the products day and night.

the other cysts/ nodules were on the forehead, non of these did i try to squeeze, so i have been making progress on that side of things. however.. i did pick last night across the forehead due to stress. need to sort this out its not healthy.

onwards and upwards to week 6! perhaps things will get better from here? 6 weeks is half way to the point they suggest things should be noticeably better.

Also how did i forget! I have been to a doc for a referral to a NHS dermatologist in June and I shall ask for Accutane. Blood tests to come. I am basically preparing for it incase i need to. the waiting list is fairly long.

My Regimen.. accutane

If anyone cares to read this and I manage to stop 1 person to avoid going on Accutane, then its served its purpose.

PM me if you'd like to chat. ACNE is ENTIRELY curable through natural ways. Please don't feel pushed or pressured or helpless that you think you must resort to this drug.

I'm not a crazy natural person (nut job lol) just a 27 year old guy who has been through it all and can offer genuinely good advice. You can see by my profile how long i've been around this forum.

Hey, looking forward to following your log I am also on Differin (0.1 cream) I have been for 4 weeks now - I have mild acne with lots of closed comedones on my chin (the ones I'm most paranoid about) and closed comedones on my forehead too. All I really care about is getting rid of my chin acne because it makes me so paranoid as it's not so bad from afar but when I smile or stretch the skin it goes all red and you can see all the white grainy things

After 4 weeks on Differin I've had a papule on my right cheek (considering I don't get cheek acne that much it could be part of the IB). Anyway, it was very sore for the first couple of days and is still sitting there like a red blob.

As for my forehead acne, it might be clearing up a little bit, but I also got a few small-ish papules by my hairline, which are clearing up now.

Regard to my chin, haven't noticed a difference as of yet apart from 2 of the approx 40 closed comedones that are there are sticking out of the skin a little bit more now (considering the rest of them are embedded pretty deeply under the skin, as they're only really noticeable when my skin is stretched).

I've also decided to take up a dairy free diet for the next couple of months to see if it helps (only started last week though) and try and drink more water and green tea.

I'm also considering going back to the doctor this week and asking for the 0.3 gel rather than the cream, or at least the 0.1 gel instead, as I've heard the gel sinks into the skin better and I swear the cream just sits on top of my face and doesn't do anything.

Anyway, hold in there! It will be tough but so many people are saying you really have to wait it out with Differin and don't expect results until 4 months +. It's torturous, but even with things like Accutane it takes months.